SCC Supe Susan Ellenberg claims “citizens initiatives” - like the Bay Area’s transit tax - are essential to funding “critical lifesaving services.” But in an Opp Now exclusive op-ed, HJTA’s Susan Shelley points out how convenient it is for elected officials to hide behind “citizens initiatives” to score easy tax hikes. Shelley asks what “critical services” are missing from SCC’s current budget, which already crowds $15 billion?
Read MoreExperts say Mayor Lurie's rent control schemes actually increase costs.
Read MoreAuthorities said 14 people needed treatment or hospitalization last Friday night during a performance by The Chainsmokers, an American electronic music duo, in San Jose.
Read MoreSF Mayor's moderate image took a hit last week as his proposals to address high rents in city borrow broadly from far-left, anti-market playbook.
Read MoreLegislatures and governors are not afraid of undermining — or even downright repealing — citizen initiatives that win at the ballot box. Governing magazine explains.
Read MoreCould BART and Muni cut costs before pushing a sales tax that makes almost everything more expensive?
Lefty non profit SPUR dubiously says No, then goes on to claim transit capital project funds simply can’t be “flexed”--or reallocated --to pay for transit operations. Instead, SPUR encourages Bay Areans to pass RTM, a punishing five-county sales tax hike on this November’s ballot.
But former CA Gov candidate Thunder Parley recently took to X to call out SPUR for flexing the facts and distorting one of the key arguments against the transit tax. He says SPUR is using straw men and catastrophism to hide what this is really about: a bailout for agencies who refuse to spend money responsibly. An Opp Now fact check, with Thunder’s comments below:
Read MoreIt’s as if local media imagines clouds of smog will miraculously disperse if only voters approve the RTM sales tax hike this November. But Los Altos Institution Research Fellow, Opp Now contributing editor, and High School Senior Athan Joshi argues there will be no health benefit. An Opp Now exclusive Op/Ed.
Read MoreEconomic pressures compel under-40 residents to find greener (and cheaper) pastures in the South and Southwest. The impact on Silicon Valley politics and economics will be substantial.
Read MoreBoo! For local gov't, it seems like every day is Halloween. Yet another chance to scare us all with monsters and ogres who can only be chased away with....more taxes or more density! Our Susie Murillo takes a close look at the costume. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreSometimes history changes right in front of us, and we hardly notice it. Opp Now cofounder takes a look at how social and digital media have upended (for better and worse) traditional notions of how ideas and conventional wisdom get created.
Read MoreGotta love those subsidies: SJ and other CA cities say they want to increase affordable housing. So why do they implement policies that actually deter naturally occurring affordable housing?
Read MoreExperts keep saying it would be cheaper and more effective if we could just give Uber vouchers to folks instead of building boondoggle mass transit extensions. They have a point.
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